Out for Justice
by Kurt Kieser
Summary: Takumi is mugged immediately after purchasing a birthday present for Akira. After learning of this heinous crime, can Akira contain herself or will she seek out revenge?
1. An Act of Violence

**Out for Justice**

**Chapter 1 - An Act of Violence**

Having put a great deal of thought into the gift that he had planned to give her for her birthday, which was fast approaching, Takumi was ecstatic that today he would finally take possession of it after making the final installment payment. Having stumbled upon a quaint little shop slightly off the beaten path only three months earlier, Takumi had found what he thought would be the perfect gift for Akira. Even though it was way more than he could afford, he was still determined to do everything he could to acquire it for her. And since everyone at school was envious of his homemade bento lunches, Takumi figured that he could earn some extra money by selling them to some of the students. It turned out to be quite a lucrative endeavor on his part as the demand wound up being way more than he had ever imagined, usually having to turn people away when he ran out. It was quite a bit of extra work for him every morning in having to prepare them all, but the end result he figured would be worth it. Making several trips into town during those months, Takumi diligently put more and more of his hard earned money down on a weekly basis towards its acquisition. He felt a great deal of satisfaction as the shopkeeper handed him the item after making his final layaway payment, knowing that it would put a smile on Akira's face. Checking his watch after making the purchase, Takumi realized that he was running a bit late since he had promised Akira that he would have dinner ready for her promptly at six. Plus, he still had to stop by the local market to pick up a few ingredients. Quickly making his way out of the shop, he looked at his watch yet again and then figured that he could catch an earlier train if he took a shortcut through a nearby alleyway. With a small bag in hand, he hurriedly made his way down the narrow and seemingly abandoned corridor.

"What's your hurry, little man?" a dark figure asked, popping out of the shadows and causing Takumi to stop dead in his tracks.

"I… I'm in kind of a hurry," Takumi nervously explained as he tried to get by.

"Whoa, slow down there, pal," the tall leather vest clad figure advised, blocking his path as he then threateningly remarked, "Don't you know it's not good for your health if you rush around like that. Now then, what's in the bag?"

"Uh, it… it's a present… for a friend."

"Present, huh? Well let's have a look at it," he insisted, aggressively grabbing the bag from Takumi's hands.

"Wait, what are you…"

"Relax pal. Ooo, what have we here?" he said with intrigue after reaching into the bag and pulling out a sharp metal object. "Quite an unusual present."

"P… please, give it back," Takumi helplessly pleaded, reaching out attempting to retrieve it.

Now holding the object up over his head in a taunting manner, the thief remarked, "Not so fast, my friend, I just want to have a look at it. So who exactly is this supposed to be a present for?"

"M… my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend? Hahahahahaha! Oh that's rich," he mocked.

"Can… can I please have it back now?"

"I don't think so, pal. Besides, I don't think this is a suitable present for your girlfriend anyway. So I think I'll just hang on it to it for you."

As he now turned and began to walk away, Takumi became frantic at his loss. Determined, he decided to come up from behind the thief, hoping to be able to subdue him by using a defensive technique that Akira had shown him. Grabbing a hold of his left arm, which had a large and frightening dragon tattoo on it, Takumi proceeded to twist it behind his back. Unfortunately, the thief easily broke free, and, with the stolen object still in his right hand, he spun around and stabbed Takumi in the arm with the object.

"That was really stupid," he menacingly replied, now holding Takumi from behind in a headlock with the object pointed directly under his chin. "I ought to…"

Noticing a crowd of people at one end of alleyway, Takumi's attacker decided not to stick around and hastily retreated, but not before reaching into Takumi's pocket first and relieving him of his wallet.

Collapsing to the ground on his knees and into a pool of his own blood, Takumi gripped his right arm, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

"Hey, are you alright?" a passerby came up and asked, noticing his injury and that he was losing quite a bit of blood.

"He took…" Takumi weakly tried to get out, quickly starting to lose consciousness.

"Just take it easy," the kind samaritan replied. "An ambulance is on the way."

"For… forgive me… Akira."

* * *

"Thank you for dining at Linden Baum today," Mai graciously acknowledged her last two dining patrons.

"Oh, Mai?" Akane called to her fellow waitress, holding the telephone's handset out to her. "There's a call for you. I think it's your brother."

"Thanks, Akane," she replied, taking the phone from her. "Takumi, is that you? So did you finally pick up Akira's… What was that, I'm having trouble hearing you. Takumi, you sound like you just got out of bed, so speak up. It's kind of noisy on your end, where are you at anyway? Uh, huh. I'm sorry, but it sounded like you said… THE HOSPITAL?"

* * *

"Sis, I'm telling you that I'm alright," Takumi tried to reassure his overprotective sister as he sat up from a bed in the hospital's emergency room.

"What were you thinking?" she frantically shouted from his bedside. "You should have just let him have it! It's not worth risking your life for some…"

"Wait, you can't go in there!" a nurse's voice was heard yelling from the opposite side of the privacy curtain, attempting to chase down a helmeted stranger.

"Takumi!" the stranger cried out in a familiar voice, pulling aside the curtain.

"Uh, is that…" Takumi began in a puzzled tone until being interrupted by the nurse.

"Sir, you'll have to wait outside," the nurse scolded, sounding out of breath.

Removing the helmet, the young intruder proceeded to flip her green hair off to the side.

"Akira?" Takumi was surprised but happy to see.

"It's okay," Mai reassured the nurse. "She's with us."

"Sorry, but she tends to overreact at times," a tall, dark-haired girl clad in tight leather, having just entered, tried to explain to the nurse.

"Natsuki-sempai?"

"Let me guess," Mai surmised, "she begged you to bring her here."

"More like threatened," Natsuki replied, turning to Akira. "She really freaked out when you called and broke the news to her."

"I'm sorry, but you can't all stay here" the nurse insisted. "Two of you need to wait in the waiting room."

"It's alright, we'll go," Mai offered as she then turned to her brother. "Call me when you get back to your dorm room. I'd lecture you myself, but I think I'll just leave that to Akira."

Leaning over and giving her brother a kiss on the cheek, Takumi suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness at having to explain himself to Akira.

"Go easy on him," Mai requested of Akira.

Nodding, Akira then proceeded to hand Natsuki her helmet and awkwardly acknowledged, "Uh, thanks for the ride."

"My pleasure," she said with a smile, departing the room with Mai.

Now turning and looking down at Takumi's bandaged right arm, Akira didn't appear angry at all like he had feared, instead, she seemed to have a more worried look about her.

"I'm sorry, Akira, I know I probably shouldn't have…"

Before he could finish, Akira tearfully threw her arms around him, taking Takumi quite by surprise.

"Thank god you're alright!" she happily cried. "When Mai called and said that someone had stabbed you, I thought…"

"Akira."

"Well," she continued, sounding a bit more composed after dabbing her eyes, "I'm just relieved that you're okay. So how are you feeling?"

"Other than feeling a bit weak after losing so much blood, I'm starting to come around. The cut on my arm was kind of deep so the doctor had to give me ten stitches. I don't mind that so much, it's just…"

"What is it?"

"I'm just still really upset that he got away with…" Takumi then stopped himself, not wanting to spoil the surprise, even though it seemed a moot point now. "Never mind, it's not important."

"What? Got away with what? You mean your wallet? I wouldn't worry about that."

"Didn't my sister tell you the details?" he worriedly realized.

"Only that someone had attacked you," she professed. Then, in a more vengeful tone she demanded, "So who did this to you? Did you get a good look at him? If you describe him to me I can draw a sketch that might be of some help in finding him."

"Uh, I already gave the police a description. I don't think that there's anything more that you can do."

"Don't be too sure," she said with determination. "If you can give me a good description I'll track this guy down myself and make him pay for what he's done to you."

"No, Akira, I… I really think we should just leave this to the police."

Before she could object, Akira noticed a concerned look upon his face and sympathetically offered, "Look, try not to worry about it so much. If it's the money that he took that's troubling you, I could just let you have…"

"No, it's not that," he insisted. "In fact, I actually got my wallet back. He discarded it a few feet away after taking what little money I did have in there. But that's not what's bothering… Look, just forget it, okay."

"What? No! I can't do that," Akira contended, then urged, "Takumi, please, what is it that he took that's got you so upset?"

"It was…"

"What?"

Realizing there was no point in hiding it from her any longer, he confessed, "Your birthday present. He took the birthday present that I had just bought for you."

"Oh Takumi, I don't care about that," she assured him, then tearfully professed, "I'm just thankful that he didn't take… your life."

"Akira."

Wiping her eyes she reassuredly added, "So don't worry about it. Your life is way more important than some material object, so it's just as well that you let him have it. You didn't struggle with him I hope."

"Uh, well the thing is…" he awkwardly began.

"Oh, Takumi, you didn't. You should have just given him what he wanted. It's senseless to fight over mere material goods especially if it endangers your life."

"Yeah, I know," Takumi realized but then tried to justify, "Still, I had saved up so long to buy that for you. So I figured when he turned his back and started to walk away that I could use one of those defensive moves that you showed me."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," she said in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you attacked him first?"

"Um, kind of," he hesitantly confessed, then argued, "But I was just trying to get your present back from him. I had no idea that he'd use it ag… against me. Uh oh. Look, Akira, before you say anything…"

Shaking her head, Akira was flabbergasted at this revelation, causing her to admonish, "Takumi, what were you thinking? How could you be so reckless? That move that I taught you was to be used to defend yourself, not the other way around. Plus, you had no business going after him. I don't care what he took; it's never worth the risk."

"You're right," he said rather downtrodden, hanging his head in remorse. "I guess it was pretty stupid of me. I just kept thinking about your reaction and the look you'd have on your face once I gave it to you. My emotions just got the best of me I suppose. I'm really, really sorry."

"Look, I don't mean to yell at you. But honestly, can you blame me? I'm just worried about you that's all."

"Yeah, I know, and I appreciate it."

"So what was it that was so important that you thought it was worth risking your life over?"

"Well, since the surprise is already ruined I might as well tell you. It was an antique tanto knife from the Edo period. It once belonged to a kunoichi who loyally served Tokugawa Ieyasu."

Rather astonished at his impressive, yet expensive, taste in weapons of the era, Akira remarked, "Why Takumi, that must have cost you… Wait, is that what you were doing with all that money you were earning from selling those bento lunches?"

Takumi simply nodded, acknowledging her.

"Oh, Takumi, that was so sweet of you, but you really shouldn't have. I don't want you spending all your hard-earned money on me."

"But I wanted to," he professed. "And working to earn the money for it was rather gratifying knowing that the end result would put a smile on your face. Of course, that's not going to happen now that I've made such a mess of things."

"What are you talking about? You did no such thing. Besides, I already told you that I'm happy just knowing that you're alright."

"So, are we feeling any better, Tokiha-san?" an elderly gentleman wearing blue scrubs inquired. Then, placing a stethoscope upon his chest and listening to his heartbeat he asked, "Is your strength starting to come back or are you still feeling a bit weak?"

"I'm actually feeling much better now, doctor."

"Glad to hear it," he replied as he then took a hold of his wrist and checked his pulse. "Still a bit weak, but that's to be expected after losing all that blood. You're lucky that you didn't need a blood transfusion. It'll be a few more hours until your body replenishes it all. Just make sure that you get plenty to eat; your body needs all the energy it can get right now."

"Don't worry, doctor," Akira assured him, "I'll make sure that he does."

"Excellent. Then I'll send the nurse in with your discharge papers and a prescription for an antibiotic and you can be on your way. Oh, and don't forget to check in with your regular physician in about two weeks. He can reexamine the wound and will probably be able to remove the stitches for you by then."

"Thank you, doctor," Takumi acknowledged as he departed.

"Well, what do you feel like eating?" Akira questioned him. "I'm kind of hungry myself, but I'll let you choose the restaurant. My treat of course."

"But Akira, I was going to make you dinner tonight."

"Well forget that, you've been through too much already. Plus you need to build up your strength, so I certainly don't expect you to cook dinner after all of that."

"Alright," he reluctantly conceded. "But it's just that I had a special meal all planned out for us."

"Well, don't worry about it. You're always cooking for me anyway so I think it's only fair that I treat you for a change."

"Yeah, I guess," he finally relented. "Still, I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I guess I should have just taken a later train instead of taking that shortcut through the alleyway to try and catch an earlier one. I would have still been able to make it for you, but it just would have been a little bit late that's all. Oh well. Anyway, I really don't know what I want so why don't you choose the restaurant."

At that moment, the nurse came in with some papers for Takumi to sign and then handed him a small slip of paper for his prescription. Meanwhile, Akira just had a stunned expression on her face as Takumi's last statement began to sink in.

Noticing her bewildered look after the nurse had left prompted Takumi to ask, "Akira? What's wrong?"

"Are… are you saying that you took that shortcut because of me?"

"Well I just wanted to have dinner ready for you at…" Takumi then suddenly realized that she might be feeling a bit responsible for what had happened. "Oh, oh no, Akira, I hope you don't think that…"

"If you hadn't been trying to hurry home to make me dinner," she began to comprehend, "this never would have happened."

"Akira, please, you mustn't blame yourself. I made the call to take that shortcut, so it's my fault for not using better judgement."

"Still, I…"

"Akira, no!" Takumi objected as he got up from the bed, then placed his hands upon her shoulders. "I won't let you do this to yourself."

"Takumi."

"Look, I made a mistake," he confessed, looking her straight in the eyes. "I have no one to blame but myself. So let's just leave it at that, okay?"

Akira smiled, rather proud at his responsible attitude. As she then went to embrace him in a hug, a loud gnawing sound could clearly be heard emanating from her stomach.

"Well, somebody certainly sounds hungry," Takumi noted. "Say, did you even eat lunch today?"

"Uh, to tell you the truth," she reluctantly began to admit, "I actually skipped lunch because…"

"Because why?"

"Well, I… I was kind of saving room because I know how delicious your home-cooked meals can be."

"Aww, that's sweet. Thank you, Akira. But really, you still shouldn't skip lunch just because…"

Takumi was then interrupted by an even louder grumbling sound coming from his own stomach.

"You were saying?"

* * *

Takumi was pleasantly surprised at Akira's restaurant selection, yet at the same time shocked when he saw the menu prices. Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable when she lavished him with expensive gifts, he reluctantly held his tongue and simply accepted her reasoning of settling on the nearest eatery due to their hunger, even though he knew that they had passed several less pricey places during the subway ride over. But besides that, he was just too hungry to object and happily accepted her gracious offering to partake in such fine cuisine.

* * *

"How about now? Does that look more like him?" Akira persistently questioned as she showed Takumi her recent sketch, seeming fixated on getting an accurate rendering of his attacker.

"Uh, yeah, that's a pretty good likeness of him," Takumi replied somewhat disconcerted as he sat helplessly in her dorm room, feeling that her dogged questioning felt like an interrogation at times.

"You sure? How about the tattoo? Are there any other features that you can remember that seemed to stand out?"

"Akira, please, enough already," he said in frustration. "I've told you as well as the police everything I can about him. I don't know what you hope to accomplish with this anyway, so just leave the matter to the police."

"The police? Are you kidding? This crime is small potatoes to them; they're not going to do anything," she maintained. "Besides, even if they do manage to catch him, he'll just be back out on the street in a couple of days, and there's no way that I'm going to let that happen. I refuse to just sit back and let this crime go unpunished."

"What, so you intend to take the law into your own hands? Akira, I don't want you going out on some kind of manhunt for this guy."

"Takumi, he could have killed you!" an overemotional Akira cried out.

"Akira."

"I… I'm sorry. I know I may be overreacting, but it's not like he simply robbed you, which I might have been able to overlook. But the fact is he… he hurt you. And that… that I can't forgive."

"Oh Akira, I wish you wouldn't take this so personally," Takumi wistfully replied. "I mean, sure my injury could have been a lot worse, but it wasn't. And don't forget, I'm partly to blame too. After all, I did sort of provoke him."

"That still doesn't excuse his actions."

"I know. Look, all I'm saying is that this whole eye for an eye mentality is simply not healthy and won't solve anything. So please, I beg of you, promise me you won't do anything foolish and that you'll let the police handle the matter."

Akira was all at once placated when she saw the look of concern upon his face. Unable to argue against his sweet-tempered nature, Akira reluctantly relented.

"Alright, I promise. I promise you I won't go looking for him."

"Thank you."

"However, if our paths should ever happen to cross one day, I swear to you I'll… well, let's just say that I won't be responsible for my actions."


	2. Akira with a Vengeance

**Out for Justice**

**Chapter 2 - Akira with a Vengeance**

"Bye, thanks for coming," Mai acknowledged several of her friends as they departed her dorm room.

With Akira's birthday party now winding down, Takumi promptly began cleaning up the room. Insistent on helping her brother, Mai was most facilitating with the party arrangements. Feeling bad for what had happened to Takumi the week before, she happily obliged to take care of everything for him. Not wanting to put her through too much trouble, he insisted on at least baking the cake as well as preparing all the other food for the occasion.

"Phew, they're finally all gone," Akira expressed, sounding somewhat relieved. "I appreciate all the trouble you went through in throwing this for me, Mai, but was turning it into a karaoke party really necessary?"

"I warned you about getting her that karaoke machine for Christmas, Akira," Takumi reminded her.

"Guess it did run a bit long, huh?" Mai confessed. "Sorry. But seriously, Akira, you really have a pretty singing voice. I'd love to have you over for the next party I throw."

"Uh, I'll think about it."

"Takumi, just leave that," Mai indicated to her neat freak of a brother who was still busy tidying up. "I'll clean all that up later."

"You sure, I don't mind."

"Yes, I'm sure," she said rolling her eyes, then placing an arm around her brother and pulling him in close, she confidentially whispered, "It's Akira's birthday so why don't you go do something special with her, if you know what I mean. Just don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

"Sis!" Takumi said in embarrassment.

"Just kidding. Now go on, I've got everything covered here. Oh, you want to take some of the leftover food and cake before Mikoto gets to it?"

"No thanks, sis. Akira? Oh, you already made yourself an extra plate," Takumi observed as she held a plastic wrap covered plate in her hand.

"There's no way I'm letting that gluten scarf down all this delicious food by herself," Akira noted. "By the way, where is she?"

"She's taking a nap in the other room," Mai informed her.

Gathering all of Akira's gifts and placing them in a shopping bag, Takumi offered to carry them for her as they then made their way to the door.

"Well, guess I'll see you guys later," Mai said holding the door open for them.

"Bye, sis, and thanks for all your help."

"My pleasure."

Then catching Akira off guard, Mai threw her arms around her and proceeded to give her a big bear hug.

"Uh, M… Mai, you're choking me," Akira gasped, attempting to catch her breath.

"Happy birthday, Akira."

"Th… thank you."

"Bye! Have fun you two!" Mai called after them.

Heading upstairs and stopping off at Akira's dorm room, Takumi set the bag with her gifts down on her kitchen table as Akira put the leftover food in the refrigerator. Staring at the bag, Takumi began to feel a bit self-conscious as he realized that none of the gifts were from him.

"Takumi," Akira said waving a hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

"Alright, what's bothering you?" she demanded to know, realizing full well that something was eating at him. "Come on, out with it."

"Well, the thing is I really feel bad that I wasn't able to get you anything. I didn't have any money left since he took it all and I didn't want to ask my sister to…"

"Okay, stop," she interjected. "Takumi, I told you, I don't need any presents to make me happy."

"Yeah, but…"

"Takumi, don't you know by now that…" Becoming flustered, Akira suddenly took Takumi by the hands and assured him, "Your being here with me is the best gift I could possibly ever ask for."

"Akira."

Leaning in and planting a loving kiss upon his lips, Takumi then reciprocated the gesture, pulling her in close to his body and tenderly embracing her.

"Mmm, thank you for such a lovely gift, Takumi."

"You're quite welcome. But you know," Takumi began, now spoiling the mood, "I just wish you could have seen it; I'm sure you would have loved it. The shop actually has one that's similar to it but it was twice as expensive and…"

"Alright, let's go," she insisted, throwing her hands up and sounding extremely frustrated.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"You're obviously not going to let this go until you've shown me this thing. So let's just go down to this shop right now so you can get it off your chest."

"N… no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just…"

"Oh, it's alright, really," she reassured him in a more relaxed tone. "But seriously, let's just go down there. Besides, you've got me kind of curious now."

"Really? Okay, sure. Oh, but wait. It'll be pretty dark out by the time we get down there. Plus, it's not exactly on the main strip with all the other shops so it could be a bit dangerous down there this late in the day."

"Are you forgetting who you'll be with? Relax, you'll be perfectly safe as long as you're with me."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay then, let's go."

Making their way out of her room, Akira seemed to have a mischievous grin on her face as she closed the door behind her, almost as though she had an ulterior motive for wanting to go.

* * *

"It's just up ahead, Akira," Takumi motioned with his hand, indicating to a small antique shop on the next corner, then suddenly realizing that he had lost her a few feet back. "Akira?"

Stopping in front of a darkened alleyway, Akira became transfixed as she stared suspiciously at a group of four males who were gathered about halfway down the corridor near a Dumpster, chatting away and smoking.

"Akira, what are you looking at?" Takumi came over and asked.

"Just checking things out." she nonchalantly replied. "Guess you weren't kidding when you said that this wasn't exactly in the best part of town. So is this where it happened?"

"Um, yeah," he responded sounding rather uneasy.

"And you say that it was just the one guy and that there was no one else around?" Akira questioned him as she continued to eye the scraggly group of teens.

"Yes, I already told you. Now please, let's just go; they're starting to stare at us," Takumi apprehensively observed.

"Alright, relax. I'm coming."

"Hey you!" a deep male voice came from the alley, as a figure appearing to be in his late teens now began to approach them.

"Akira, hurry! Let's get out of here!" Takumi anxiously beseeched, grabbing her arm and tugging on it to try and get her to move.

"Just a minute," Akira requested, taking several steps into the alley.

"Akira! Come on, you promised you wouldn't go looking for trouble."

"Relax, I just want to see what he wants."

"But…"

Takumi's objection went unheeded as a rather muscular male, his head shaved and sporting numerous tattoos and body piercings, approached the two and menacingly remarked, "Yeah we saw you two snooping around. You looking for trouble?"

"N… no, we don't want any trouble," Takumi nervously replied. "We were just leaving. Come on, Akira."

"Not so fast there, pal," he warned, stepping in front of them and folding his arms, blocking their exit from the alley. "I didn't say you could go just yet. You're on our turf now, so if you want to get out of here in one piece there's a little matter of an exit fee. Now come on, cough up some dough."

"And if we refuse?" Akira calmly asked.

"Then we have a problem," he threateningly stated, reaching into his back pocket and revealing a switchblade. Flipping it open he began to wave it directly in front of the two in an intimidating manner.

"Akira," a most frightened Takumi fretted.

"Take it easy, Takumi, I can handle this thug," she assured him.

"Oh you think so, do ya sweetheart?" the hoodlum remarked, continuing to wave the blade before them. "Look, this isn't a toy and I ain't playin' no games, so you best hand over your money."

Shaking her head, Akira then warned, "I really don't think you want to mess with me right now, so just step out of the way and let us pass."

"Ha! You're hardly in a position to tell me what to do. Now either make with some cash or I'll see to it that both you and your friend here receive matching scars."

Sighing heavily, Akira then firmly stated, "Now you went and crossed the line. It's one thing to threaten me, but when you threaten Takumi…"

Before she could even finish her statement, the teen was caught totally unawares as he all at once felt a sharp pain on the bottom of his hand. For in a flash Akira had made a swift kicking motion towards him, causing the blade to fly out of his hand. Now once again standing alongside Takumi, almost as if she had never left, Akira then reached a hand into the air and effortlessly caught the airborne knife.

"How… how did you?"

"Now, I'll tell you one more time," Akira demanded. "Step out of the way and let us pass."

"What's the matter, Kyoichi?" a familiar voice came as he mocked his associate. "This little girl giving you trouble?"

As the tall, leather vest clad teen approached along with his other two comrades, Takumi took a step back behind Akira hoping that he wouldn't be recognized.

"Ikari!" Kyoichi addressed his so-called leader, now clutching the hand that Akira had just injured. "It's not like that. This girl, she's… some kind of martial arts expert. Better not underestimate her."

"Give me a break, you're just soft because you're afraid of hitting a girl. Well let me tell you… hello, who have we here?"

Recognizing Takumi, he took a step closer to get a better look but stopped short when Akira extended her arms out as a sort of warning to keep away from Takumi.

"Well, well, look who it is," Ikari was surprised to see, addressing Takumi. "I never expected to see you around these parts again."

Terrified at seeing his attacker again, Takumi cowered behind Akira who herself wondered how he knew him, then began to notice something familiar about him. Spotting a dragon tattoo on his left arm, she suddenly remembered Takumi's description and realized who he was.

"Takumi, is this the guy who attacked you?" she questioned in a most serious tone.

Still very frightened, Takumi just simply nodded, acknowledging her.

"That's all I wanted to know," Akira responded, now giving Ikari a most stern look as she admonished, "You made a big mistake, pal, and you're going to regret ever laying a finger on Takumi."

"Ooo, I'm so scared!" he mockingly replied as he then turned to his two colleagues, "Daisuke, Shinji, let's show our friend here what we do to little girls who give us lip and don't do as they're told."

Following his instructions, the two disheveled teens began to approach Akira from each side as Ikari simply looked on with an expression of delight upon his face.

"We're going to have some fun with you," Daisuke eagerly expressed, now standing before Akira and clenching his fists.

"Yeah, and your little boyfriend here can watch," Shinji added.

"Akira!" Takumi said in a panic.

"Don't worry, Takumi, I told you I could handle them. I know I promised you that I wouldn't go looking for a fight, but as you can see they're not exactly giving me much of a choice. Now stand back, this could get ugly."

"Oh it's going to get ugly alright," Daisuke concurred as he grabbed a hold of Akira's left arm. "For you! Grab her other arm, Shinji!"

Anticipating such a predicable move, Akira allowed their little entrapment scheme to progress as they both now had a firm grip on each of her arms. Then, without warning, she rapidly leapt back and brought her arms together out in front of her, causing her attackers to slam headfirst into each other.

"Now it's your turn," Akira cautioned Ikari as his two friends now lay unconscious before her.

Being so preoccupied with taking them down so that she could focus on their leader and exact her revenge, Akira neglected to notice that Kyoichi had taken hold of Takumi during the skirmish.

"I don't think so," Ikari confidently replied, indicating over to Kyoichi who had a firm grasp of Takumi with one arm around his neck while his other hand was clasped over his mouth to keep him from screaming.

"Damn you! Let go of him!"

"I told you I wasn't playing games," Kyoichi vengefully shot back. "Now you're gonna pay for that little stunt you pulled before. And don't think that just because I don't have my blade anymore that I can't still hurt him. I can break his little neck right now if I wanted to."

Demonstrating that he'd make good on his threat, Kyoichi began to tighten his grip around Takumi's neck.

"Bastard! If you harm him so help me I'll…"

"You'll what," Ikari nefariously remarked as he approached her. "Unless you want to see your little friend beat to a pulp, you'll do exactly as we say."

"Fine! Take my money," Akira desperately gave in, handing her wallet over to Ikari. "Just let him go!"

"Oh it's too late for that now," Ikari informed her. "You had your chance earlier but you just had to play all rough and mess with us. Now we're going to teach you a lesson."

Realizing that she was helpless to do anything at the moment, lest she risked putting Takumi in danger, Akira could now only cringe as Ikari came up from behind and started to fondle her.

"That's more like it," the controlling Ikari said with great pleasure. "Now if you're a good little girl and do as we say, nobody will have to get hurt."

"Mmmmph!" Takumi tried to cry out as he struggled to break free from his captor's grip, horrified at what he was witnessing.

"Hahahaha!" an amused Kyoichi responded with an evil laugh. "Don't worry kid, we'll let you watch."

"Kyoichi, bring him over here," Ikari instructed, indicating over to the Dumpster as he forced Akira along. "No one will see us there."

Takumi was now frantic as he desperately tried to think of some way to help Akira. Even though he had previously failed when he tried using an Aikido move that Akira had taught him, the situation was different now. And besides, he figured, there was no way that he could just stand around and watch without doing anything.

"Huh? Hey, what are you stopping for, keep moving," Kyoichi forcibly said when Takumi stopped dead in his tracks before reaching the Dumpster.

Giving him a shove caused Kyoichi to let up slightly on his grip, which was what Takumi was counting on. Using that opportunity, Takumi slipped a hand between his neck and Kyoichi's elbow. With a firm grasp on it, he pushed out on it just enough to allow him to slip his head through. Now free, he began to rotate his body three hundred and sixty degrees, causing Kyoichi to lose his balance. Takumi then grabbed onto Kyoichi's wrist while his other hand still maintained its hold on his upper arm. With his body now completely off balance, Takumi was able to effortlessly force him down to the ground.

Witnessing this, Akira watched as a stunned Takumi now stood staring down over Kyoichi's body in amazement over his defensive abilities.

"Takumi! Run!" Akira shouted, realizing that Kyoichi would immediately be getting up again.

Snapping out of his daze, Takumi quickly bolted towards the entrance of the alleyway.

"You idiot, don't let him get away!" Ikari shouted.

With Takumi free, Akira knew that she no longer needed to hold back and immediately turned on her captor, slamming Ikari's body hard up against the Dumpster.

"I'll deal with you later," she promised, as Ikari lay unconscious momentarily.

Realizing that her main priority was to save Takumi, Akira swiftly ran after Kyoicihi who was giving chase. She noticed his arm reaching out, ready to re-apprehend Takumi.

"Oh no you don't!" Akira objected as her body now floated gracefully through the air, her left leg fully extended out in front of her.

Kyoichi suddenly felt a hard blow to the side of his body, which was then propelled up against the concrete block wall.

"I told you not to mess with me," Akira remarked standing over his now inanimate body.

"Akira!" a relieved Takumi cried out as he came running up to embrace her. "Are you alright? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No, Takumi, I'm fine," she reassured him.

"Oh I'm so glad. You were just amazing!"

"You weren't so bad yourself," she commended him for his quick thinking. Then in a more serious tone added, "Listen, you need to get out of here. Go into one of the shops where you'll be safe."

"But, aren't you coming?"

"I have some unfinished business to attend to," she informed him, looking back to where Ikari was who had just regained consciousness.

Being helped up by Shinji and Daisuke who had also just come to, the three now quickly made their way towards Akira.

"Hurry up and go!" Akira urged.

"But what if they…"

"Relax, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"Alright," he finally relented, "but be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll try not to hurt them too much," she slyly remarked. "Now go!"

Watching as Takumi safely made his way out of the alley and inside the antique shop, Akira was now free to direct her full attention on her three adversaries.

"Shinji, Daisuke, go after the kid," Ikari instructed.

"Not so fast," Akira countered, standing with her arms folded and blocking their exit.

Charging at her with his switchblade fully extended, Shinji was dumbfounded when there was no one at the receiving end of his attack.

"Where'd she go?" he asked in bewilderment, looking every which way around him.

"You idiot! She's right behind you!" Ikari admonished.

"Huh?"

Constantly changing her position, one second being in front of him while the next reappearing behind him, Akira effortlessly kept him off his guard.

"Can't you see she's messing with you?"

"Don't worry, I'll get her," Daisuke offered who now began to charge at her while she stood between them.

"No, wait!" Ikari tried to warn.

"Too slow," Akira playfully said, casually stepping off to the side where she delighted in seeing Daisuke collide into Shinji.

"Idiots!" a disgusted Ikari remarked over their once again unconscious bodies.

"Guess it's just us now," Akira said with a smirk while cracking her knuckles. "I'm actually going to enjoy this."

"Likewise. And don't think that I'm some sort of pushover just because you were able to defeat those three so easily. I'm in a totally different league than them."

"Oh yeah? And what league would that be? Dumb and dumber?"

"Make jokes if you want, but that smart mouth of yours is going to be your undoing. And I intend to shut it… permanently!"

Turning his body sideways, Ikari's right leg came at Akira in a horizontal sweeping motion forcing her to deflect his kick with her arm. Not letting up, Ikari then propelled the clenched fist of his left hand toward Akira's ribs following up immediately thereafter with a backhanded lash strike at her face. Surprised at his speed and agility, Ikari was able to keep up with her every move. Akira now found herself on the defensive, being forced to dodge and block every one of his attacks.

"I told you I was nothing like them," Ikari reiterated, suspending his onslaught momentarily.

"Very impressive moves, I must say," Akira acknowledged. "Been studying a bit of karate, have we?"

"If you consider a second-degree black belt a bit, then yes."

"Oh, so you're one of those I see."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ikari seemed to take offense at.

"You're the kind of person that takes up karate, or any other form of martial arts for that matter, strictly for the purpose of bullying other people, going against every principle of its true intention. It's guys like you that give this sport a bad name."

"You're wrong. I do it because it's fun," he countered. "And if I have to step on a few people along the way to get my kicks, then so be it."

"You make me sick!" Akira snarled, now going on the offensive and lobbing her own style of attacks upon him.

Rigorously defending himself, Ikari soon saw an opening and, with his left arm extended out above his head, he grabbed hold of Akira's right wrist while blocking the other with his leg. Taking advantage of the small window of opportunity, Ikari's right hand then went straight for Akira's throat.

"You're in way over your head, missy," he said with malevolence, maintaining a chokehold on her.

"You… really… shouldn't…" Akira attempted to get out while gasping for breath.

"UUUUHHH!" Ikari suddenly screamed out in pain when Akira's knee made contact with his groin.

"…let your guard down," Akira satisfactorily concluded.

"You bitch!" he infuriatingly cried out in a hunched over position trying to lessen the pain. "That was a cheap shot."

"Oh please," Akira said rolling her eyes, "don't even go there. Like you're one to talk about fair play after shaking down who knows how many innocent victims."

Able to compose himself as he now managed to stand up straight again, Ikari reached inside of his vest pocket and pulled out a rather unique looking knife.

"You're going to pay for that!" he angrily scowled, slowly beginning to unsheathe the rather dated looking ten-inch blade.

Taking particular notice, Akira thought that there was something unusual about it. Observing the intricate detail work on the scabbard as he unsheathed it, she had a peculiar feeling about it. Although the finish appeared quite worn, the craftsmanship in its painted image depicting two opposing samurai was unquestionably apparent. Likewise, the intricate carvings in the gold adornments on the scabbard's tip as well as the blade's handle were quite meticulous.

"Interesting looking blade you've got there," Akira observed. "So what's a low-life like you doing with such a fine instrument?"

"Oh, you like it? It was… a present."

"Really. Somehow I doubt that."

"Actually, now that I think about it, I believe he said it was… a birthday present," he tauntingly stated. "Said it was for his girlfriend, but I didn't think it was a suitable gift so I… liberated it from him. Heh heh."

"You bastard!"

"Ooo, looks like I hit a nerve with that one," he delighted in her reaction. "But believe me, I'm going to hit more than a nerve with this thing. Appropriate too, don't you think? Your boyfriend obviously wanted you to have this, so I guess I shouldn't disappoint him. I'll even deliver it for him… personally."

Vengefully lunging at her in a full frontal assault, Ikari raised his arm and attempted to strike her with the blade from an overhead position. Instantly leaping off to her left as he began to plunge the knife down, Akira then struck her assailant's knee with her right foot, throwing him off his stride. Coming at her again, this time managing to grab a hold of her shirt lapel with his left hand, Ikari then attempted to deliver a direct blow with the knife in his other. Taking a step back away from his intended strike, Akira slashed her hand downward on his forearm, forcing him to relinquish his grip upon her. Immediately countering with a swift knee kick, she quickly deflected it simply using the palm of her hand before leaping backwards, placing a good five feet between them.

"What's the matter, getting too much for you?" an overconfident Ikari presumed, sounding a bit out of breath.

"On the contrary. In fact, this is starting to bore me," Akira nonchalantly remarked, not seeming the least bit fatigued. "Up until now I've been going way too easy on you."

"Ha! That's a good one. Well if you think you can…"

Suddenly losing sight of her as she mysteriously vanished, Ikari was unfazed and held his ground as he then began scanning the alley with his eyes to try and spot her.

"I know what you're trying to do!" he called out to her. "And it's not going to work! You think that just because you're fast that you're going to be able to psyche me out! Well you may have been able to put one over on those three idiots but you can't fool me!"

"Oh darn it," Akira said with a touch of sarcasm, now reappearing before him, "you're on to me. Guess I'm just too smart for you. Whatever shall I do?"

"Don't… MOCK ME!" an incensed Ikari roared as he uncontrollably began to lunge at her with the knife.

Vanishing once again as the blade came within a foot of her, Ikari then spun around three hundred and sixty degrees desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his elusive opponent.

"Damn it!" he cursed himself under his breath. "Now where the hell did she go?"

"Hey! Mr. Yakuza wannabe!" Akira's voice taunted from above. "Up here!"

Casting his eyes upward, Ikari was flabbergasted when he saw Akira standing on the ledge of the roof of the three-story building, her legs spread and her hands confidently placed upon her hips.

"How… how did you…"

"Oh I'm sorry, did I lose you?" she mocked. "I thought you could keep up. But I forgot, you're just a lowly second-degree black belt. Here, let me make it easier for you."

In a flash she reappeared, startling him as she now stood within two feet of him, staring into his bewildered face.

"Wha… what the hell are you?" a rather shaken Ikari demanded to know. "Some kind of freak ninja?"

"Actually, I prefer the term kunoichi," she casually remarked, once again taking her leave of him and now appearing directly behind him while effortlessly relieving him of the knife. "I'll be taking that."

Akira then forcibly spun his body around so that he was once again facing her and proceeded to slam him up against the concrete block wall.

"Wha… what are you going to do?" Ikari desperately cried as she now held him by his collar with one hand while pointing the knife within an inch of his throat with the other.

"I find that it's most effective to sever the carotid artery just below the left ear," she said in a menacing tone, making a slow slashing motion from side to side with the blade. "Death is usually instantaneous. Of course, that might be too good for you. I want you to suffer like you've made others suffer."

"You… you're crazy! P… please, please don't kill me!" he pleaded with her, appearing quite terrified. "I… I'll give back everything that I've ever taken. Just don't kill me! Please, I beg of you! I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"Akira!" a stunned Takumi called out to her, reappearing at the alleyway's entrance and accompanied by two uniformed police officers. "Wha… what are you doing?"

"Miss, please put down the knife and step away from him," one of the officers demanded of her.

Releasing her grip on him, Akira now looked down at the simpering Ikari who was practically groveling at her feet.

The two policeman just looked at each other rather stunned as one of them finally inquired of Takumi, "Uh, is this the guy that attacked you?"

"Yes," Takumi acknowledged, indicating then to the still unconscious bodies of Kyoichi, Daisuke and Shinji, "along with these three."

Leaning over, Akira began to grab a hold Ikari's vest, frightening him further.

"Wha… what are you going to do to me?" he hysterically cried.

Not even bothering to acknowledge him, Akira simply reached inside of Ikari's vest pocket and retrieved the knife's scabbard.

"Miss, please step away from him!" another of the officers ordered.

Complying, Akira took a step back and then just looked down upon the sad and tragic figure.

"Humph! You guys are all alike," she said in disgust shaking her head. "You get a kick out of acting all tough and bullying innocent people. But in reality you're just using that as an excuse to make up for the fact that you yourself are nothing but a weak, miserable coward. Pathetic! And then to waste your skills by using it against others to try and control them, that's totally reprehensible."

Now sliding the knife back into its companion scabbard, Akira looked it over rather closely, admiring it just as Takumi slowly made his way back over to her side.

"Akira, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I told you I could handle them," she reassured him as she then began to hand the knife over to him. "Here, I think this belongs to you."

"The tanto blade!" he was surprised to see. "Oh I'm so glad. I thought he might have pawned it. But then really, this belongs to you. Happy birthday, Akira."

Handing it back to her she gratefully acknowledged, "Thank you, Takumi, I really appreciate it. It's beautiful; I absolutely love it. You have exquisite taste."

"Excuse me, miss" an officer approached, "but I'm afraid I'm going to need to take that. It's evidence."

"But that was her birthday present," Takumi argued, seeming at a loss.

"Don't worry, she'll get it back in a few days," the officer assured him as Akira handed it over to him.

"Thank you. Now if you could accompany us to the station, we're going to need to get a statement from the both of you."

"Of course," Takumi concurred.

"Whatever it takes to get these guys off the street," Akira added as she observed the four being escorted out of the alley in handcuffs by several other officers who had now arrived on the scene.

As they sat quietly in the back of the police car on their way over to the station, Takumi seemed deep in thought.

"Akira?" he curiously asked. "I've been thinking. If I hadn't shown up with the police when I did, were you really prepared to…"

"What? It's okay; you can say it. Was I prepared to kill him?"

"Well, were you?"

"Hmmm," she thought for a second. "Honestly, yes. Yes I was."

"What? No!" Takumi reacted rather shocked and dismayed. "Akira, are you serious?"

"I won't lie to you, Takumi, the thought did cross my mind. However," she stipulated, "while I may have contemplated it, the real question should be would I have actually followed through on it? And to that I would have to answer… no."

"Oh," Takumi said sounding quite relieved, "well that's good."

"The truth is, in all good conscience, I don't think I could ever take the life of another human being no matter how much I may loathe and detest them. Still, it makes me wonder. If I had never met you and had faced a similar situation, I'm afraid the outcome may have been quite different."

"Oh, I don't think so," Takumi confidently stated. "Regardless of whether or not I may have had an effect on you, I refuse to believe that you were ever capable of such an act. I mean sure you may act tough, but deep within, under that gruff exterior, lies a kind and thoughtful soul who cares only for the welfare of her fellow beings, whoever they might be."

"Aww, thank you, Takumi. That's really sweet of you to say that," she gratefully replied, then hesitantly added, "But ah, you do realize that I have a reputation to uphold, so I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us."

"Of course, you have my word," he happily replied, placing a gentle hand of reassurance upon hers. "So while others may see you as this bad-ass ninja, in my eyes you'll always be my most loving, kind and compassionate kunoichi."


End file.
